Alexander technique

Fri 23 Feb 2007, 19:19

I think you are better off starting with Pilates to build strength and flexibility in the core muscles. I have severe back injuries sustained in my youth - most people would have been in a chair since - and had a couple more nasties on top of those over the last 30 years. Exceptionally tough bones cracked somewhat but lead to severe soft tissue and muscle damage, which is more the longstanding legacy, its hard to tell whether nerve entrapment is caused by pinching through the spinal gaps or via ossified or scar tissued material the nerves have to pass through en route to their peripheral destinations. Whatever, the end results feel much the same ouch.

Pilates enabled me to stabilise the lumbar and pelvic floor muscles (yes, males have these as well) and by and large the sciatic pain was put under "control" through making constant and conscious use of muscle bracing in the core muscles of the lower back to stabilise the areas where the vertebrae etc. had been damaged, which no other treatment had managed to do with any long standing benefit.

Upper/mid back damage has been much more problematic to deal with and is I think also more influenced by habitual postural issues and bad habits, so I've been toying with the idea of taking some Alexander technique to try and "find" the proper posture to relieve tensions and pressures on a series of trapped nerves and badly damaged muscles and tendons in the thoracic area (damaged both lower and mid back in the original building site mishap as a teenager and had subsequent re-injuries).

However, without the foundation of a stronger core musculature and lower back which I developed with a degree of awareness of through Pilates I don't think there would be a proper "foundation" for something like Alexanders technique.

I tried a Pilates class but found that useless as a starting point.

So I budgetted for a limited number of 1 on 1 sessions targetted specifically to learn how to stabilise and strengthen the lower back which was very disabling - often needed a stick to walk - and this worked very well. If had more money ideally follow through with the holistic spinal system would have been best, but all I could afford was a"raid" on the sciatic and lumbar damage although this could not be treated in complete isolation from the overall system, of course.

My advice is to take an eclectic approach, and "gut" particular things for specific targetted issues with the back problems. I got what I needed from Pilates in a few hours to stabilise the lower back (and woe betide me when my "mindfulness" strays and I lift and twist with a weight, for example the classic is lifting up one of the kids, which can have me limping and cursing for a month afterwords until the sciatic nerve settles down...) and would like to follow this up sometime soon with stuff to reinforce middle and upper back strength and mobility.

However, at the moment I am finding traditional chinese medical practice - a mix of acupuncture, accupressure and herbal remedies - of more immediate benefit and my monthly allowance is going there. At some point in the warmer months when the fibromyalgia/polymyalgia chondylitis abates (usually sometime after a month or two of warmth) and I am able to use my upper body and arms much more than the limited amount I can during the winter months without taking silly quantities of opiates, I will seek out a Pilates instructor of some repute to address the long standing issues in the thoracic and neck area, which are now more ingrained muscle and connective tissue degeneration and scar tissue formation than simple bone issues, and see if it makes any difference.

I've heard some good reports from people with similar ingrained long term effects of long neglected accident injuries ignored and allowed to deteriorate for decades until a disabling condition was reached, and on balance I'd say Pilates has the edge of Alexander's in terms of helping "put things right" in repair terms as a starting point if it is bad.

But ... For long term maintenance I'm sure re-training the body into a proper well balanced posture can only be beneficial, but build the basic structure or rebuild the basic muscular structure around the spinal injury as the case may be, and go for Pilates first, would be my considered advice from a very knocked about old greybeard who's learned the hard way about leaving things neglected for too long :-(